Students visit Washington D.C. during spring break

A group of history and political science majors spent their spring break in Washington D.C. visiting many sites that they had previously experienced only in textbooks.

Dr. Matthew Bowman, associate professor of history, organized and accompanied the students.

“We have developed a nice partnership with U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman’s office, and have been lucky enough to gain access to special places, such as the floor of the House of Representatives and the Senate chamber,” Bowman said. “The experience very much illuminated what the students have encountered only in textbooks.”

The students included: Rachael Lewis of Danville; Destiny Martin of Hot Springs; Marissa Gaspard of Hot Springs; Eric Brown of Glenwood; Shanika Smith of Arkadelphia; and Steven Blair of Glenwood.

The trip’s itinerary included visits to the U.S. Capitol; the White House; Arlington National Cemetery (Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the gravesite of John F. Kennedy); the National Archives (original copies of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution); Ford Theatre (Assassination of Abraham Lincoln); the National Gallery of Art; the Wall Memorial of the Vietnam War; the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial; and various Smithsonian museums.

Each student paid a portion of his or her cost, but most of the expenses were underwritten by the Sidney S. McMath Endowment for Pre-Law and Political Science, and administered by the Henderson State University Foundation.